This underlying process is used to recover high-purity aromatics from hydrocarbon mixtures, such as reformed petroleum naphtha (reformate), pyrolysis gasoline (pygas), or coke-oven light oil. It can also be used for benzene reduction in fuels. The aromatics recovery process takes its name from the solvent used: tetrahydrothiophene-1, 1-dioxide, or sulfolane, which is the most efficient solvent available for the recovery of aromatics.
Many aromatics extraction units experience foaming which requires anti-foam injections. However, anti-foam particulates may be found downstream on the trays, especially the silica in the anti-foam. This causes fouling issues in the unit. The silica in the anti-foam may also appear in the raffinate in an aromatics extraction unit which can cause issues for downstream hydrotreating reactors.